Explosive batter Will Smeed has changed his mind about being a white-ball specialist and has signed a new contract with Somerset that includes all formats of the game. This means he could be playing in the County Championship.
Smeed became well-known in 2022 when he decided to focus only on limited-overs cricket. At the time, he said he needed to concentrate on white-ball formats to become the best cricketer he could be. This was seen as a significant move, highlighting the growing divide between short-format and traditional first-class cricket.
However, after a hamstring injury kept him out of last summer’s Hundred tournament, Smeed played some Second XI County Championship matches for Somerset. This experience made him rethink his decision, and now he aims to get into the Championship team.
Smeed stated that he is eager to play more cricket after feeling like he missed out last summer due to injury. He enjoyed playing red-ball cricket in the Second XI and began to consider it a good option.
He also mentioned that watching Somerset’s successful Championship season last year was inspiring and made him want to be part of that team.
Despite having played mostly T20 cricket in his career so far, Smeed has experience in red-ball cricket, including a century for the second XI when he was 16. He gained recognition as the first player to score a century in the Hundred and has played in various franchise leagues like CPL, PSL, and SA20.
Somerset’s Director of Cricket, Andy Hurry, commented that Will Smeed has a lot of potential and that his return to multi-day cricket will strengthen their batting options for the County Championship. Hurry added that Smeed had always suggested he might return to red-ball cricket and that fans would be excited to see him available for all formats.
